Author's note: hopefully this chapter clears up any confusion about the last. We're coming close to the end! Only a few more left!
SamFanFirst: thank you for your review! This chapter should explain what happened and when exactly Murphy entered the room.
Redlox2: no body, but the blood pool was large enough that, had it come from a single person, it would have been fatal. Given that they had no reason to believe anyone other than Clarke had made it, it was reasonable to believe she had been killed and her body taken out. Lexa was also trying not to give into false hope and was believing the worst to try to protect herself, even as Echo tried to point out that the two blood trails meant one of the men was likely bleeding as well. That will come to a head more in the chapter after this one.
Chapter 31
Lexa lifted her head to look up to Clarke, her eyes wide and hopeful. Clarke's eyes were full of pain and sadness. She could only hold Lexa's gaze for a second before devolving into sobs, her face scrunching up and shoulders shaking.
Lexa immediately went up and cupped Clarke's face, pushing her forehead against Clarke's, letting both their tears fall. Clarke wrapped her arms around Lexa and pulled her closer, ignoring the pain. She had truly thought she would never see Lexa again and needed to feel her in her arms. Lexa gently put her arm under Clarke's neck, her other still gently caressing her cheek, foreheads still touching, their tears mingling together.
After a while, the tears ebbed and they just looked at the other, thirsty for the sight of the other, the proof that this was real.
"I thought I'd never see you again," Clarke said, her voice small.
"I thought you were dead," more tears fell from Lexa's eyes, "when I saw the blood…I still don't understand how you're alive."
Lexa pulled back slightly, noticing Raven come up to sit on the other side of the bed. She gave Raven a weak smile.
"They even radioed that you were dead. Lincoln and I had to tell your mom," Raven tried to sound mad, but her tears and the crack in her voice betrayed her.
Clarke looked confused, "How did you find me?"
"We didn't," Lexa said, "We tried tracking them, but they used the reaper tunnels, so it took longer. We found where they were keeping you, but you weren't there, just a pool of blood." She paused, forcing back the feelings from when she saw that, taking a deep breath and blinking back both the rage and tears, "We found them; I thought they were moving your body. I killed Emerson and had Johnson taken back to Polis."
Clarke was both relieved and confused. The last thing she remembered was being chained up and Johnson approaching her before his head and body suddenly flew to the side. Then another flash, of when they had taken her, of Octavia laying on the ground, blood on her head. She wasn't sure if it was a real memory or just that of her dream. She knew from what Raven said that Lincoln had stayed with her, but not the fate of the others.
"Octavia! They attacked us on the way to Arkadia," she tried to push herself to get up, to see the room better.
Octavia wasn't far and came up to the other side of Raven, "I'm here, Clarke."
Clarke was so relieved she started crying again, "Thank God…and the others?"
Octavia looked down for a second, still feeling guilt about letting Clarke get taken, "Jamis was killed, but the rest of us are fine. I'm sorry, Clarke. I should have seen something…"
"You're alive. That's all that matters," Clarke said, reaching over to grab her hand.
She thought for a minute. They had thought she was dead, enough to even tell her mother of her death, "If you didn't find me, how did I get here?"
"Murphy," Raven replied, a smile in her voice, "the cockroach popped up and found you."
"And nearly shot Bellamy and Echo to protect you," Octavia added, smirking.
Clarke's eyes searched the room until she saw him, a woman looking uncomfortable behind him. She gave a small smile, which he returned, before grabbing the woman's hand and bringing her close to the bed. She looked uncomfortable, but gave a small smile to Clarke.
"Hey there, Princess," he said, "it looks like you've had a bit of trouble since the last time I saw you."
She smiled softly at him before turning her eyes to the woman still hanging back slightly, "You're Emory." She gave Emory a small smile, "Thank you." Emory smiled back and nodded, a bit more at ease.
"Still, why did you think I was dead?" she turned to Lexa again.
"What all do you remember, Clarke?" Raven asked cautiously. They all knew she wasn't just asking what Clarke remembered; she wanted to know what all they had done to her before Murphy got her out.
Clarke sighed, closing her eyes, "We were all riding to Arkadia. Then things get fuzzy, but I remember Octavia lying on the ground with a head wound…then nothing until I woke up in that room." She took another breath to calm herself. She knew from when she had told Lexa what happened the first time that it was better to get it all out, "Emerson was there. I was blindfolded at first and my hands were chained above me, but Emerson took off the blindfold. He wanted to give me killmarks for Mount Weather. He named each one. He ran out of room on my back, so Johnson ripped my shirt and he put more on my front."
Her frown deepened as she spoke, "I passed out, but Emerson injected me with something to keep me awake. When my front was covered, Johnson took off my pants and Emerson put the last ones on my legs. It hurt like hell." She was coming to the part that she remembered least, but feared the most, "Emerson left saying he was going to get some sleep before they continued and left me with Johnson. I knew what he was going to do and I tried to fight him," she turned to Lexa, tears coming again, "I tried, I fought, I screamed and kicked. I tried to be strong enough to stop him."
Lexa stroked her cheek, "I know, my love, I know. You are strong, but you were also bound and injured."
Clarke nodded, taking another calming breath, "The last thing I remember was him reaching out to touch me…it was weird, though. His body just kind of flew to the side…or maybe my head did. I'm not sure, but that's the last thing I remember."
Murphy smirked, "His body flew to the side because my club hit him in the head. It knocked him down and then Emory smashed his face in with her foot until he stopped moving."
Clarke gave him an incredulous look, "So, he didn't…he wasn't…?"
"Unless he did something before that, no," Murphy said, "We heard you crying and screaming from outside. Emerson nearly caught us, would have seen us if he'd just looked up, but he just walked out of that room and into another, shutting the door. We heard you fighting and screaming again. He was just about to grab you when I hit him. His face was a bloody mess when we left, but you were out cold. That was probably a good thing, though, since I'm not sure if we could have snuck you out otherwise."
Lexa sucked in a breath, looking at Murphy with wide eyes. "The blood…it wasn't just Clarke's," she said, realization dawning on her.
Murphy nodded, "Yeah, his face and nose were gushing blood when we left." He wasn't quite sure why that was what she was zeroing in on. He sat down on a stool, pulling Emory close to him, knowing that being here was frightening for her, especially with the Commander a few feet away. "Now, someone needs to explain what the hell happened since I last saw Clarke," his voice took on a hard edge.
Bellamy came over to him and put his hand on his shoulder, "Let's take a walk and I'll explain it." Murphy gave a cautious look to Clarke. He wasn't sure who here he could trust, but he knew he could trust Clarke. She gave a small smile and nodded. He kept ahold of Emory's hand as he followed Bellamy outside.
Clarke laid her head back, her skin pulling painfully, causing her to grimace.
"How much pain are you in?" Lexa asked, planning to send someone to get Abby. She assumed she would be back soon either way.
"It hurts, but I've had worse," Clarke said, trying to downplay her pain.
Lexa glared at her, "If you're in pain, then you need something for it, no matter how much worse you've had."
Clarke smiled at her, "I wouldn't mind something to take the edge off it."
Lexa wondered sometimes if Clarke and Abby had some sort of telekinetic pull towards the other and their needs when Abby walked through the door with a coffee in hand. Seeing her daughter awake, she set it down and rushed over to her, leaning over Lexa to check on her.
"How are you feeling, baby?" she asked, feeling her now much cooler forehead.
"I'm okay, Mom," Clarke said, letting her mother check her over. She was starting to get that claustrophobic feeling being back in this room again, but pushed passed it as best as she could.
"She said she's hurting, Abby," Lexa ratted her out, earning herself a half-hearted glare from Clarke.
"I'll get some pain meds," Abby said.
Clarke sighed and allowed her mother to injected pain medication without argument. She was starting to feel the cuts more and more, though she didn't like admitting it to the others in the room. She knew how concerned they were.
Her eyes started to get heavy as the meds started working. She grabbed Lexa's hand, sudden panic taking over, "Please, be here when I wake up."
Lexa squeezed her hand and leaned over to kiss her forehead, her other hand gently stroking her hair, "Where else would I be?" Then, Clarke let sleep take her.
Clarke healed fairly quickly, able to get up and walk around after just a couple days. The cuts were healing, leaving a macabre pattern of scarring over her body. The burning from the tool Emerson used guaranteed that there would be scars, but Abby assured her that they would still fade somewhat.
She stayed in Arkadia for only a week, as she had originally planned. Even with what had happened, it was good to see her people again. A few still looked at her with pity, which she hated, but most were just glad to see her and talk to her.
She had a sense of lightness now: it was over. Those that had harmed her were either dead or locked up in the cells. She knew it wasn't really over, both Pike and Johnson still needed to be dealt with back in Polis, but she didn't have keep worrying about when and where one of them would pop back up to finish what they had started.
Murphy and Emory left after just a couple of days, loaded down with supplies that they didn't have to borrow to get. Lexa assured both of them that her guards and warriors would be informed of what they had done and they would be welcome in Polis, if they so chose. Kane said the same about Arkadia. Lexa did mention that they would still be held to Polis laws and they would be expected to follow them if they visited. Murphy just smirked and nodded, understanding the gentle warning to behave. He figured they might visit each place, but neither would ever be their home. They would make their own home with their own rules.
Lexa gave Clarke back the Flame Totem, Clarke gasping when she saw it, "I thought I lost it when they took me the first time!"
"I believe it was in your jacket," Lexa said, "it helped guide me to you."
Clarke smiled and let Lexa put it around her neck, where Lexa informed her it should have been a long time ago. Then, she thought about her jacket, remembering putting it in the secret pocket. If the medallion was found away from it, the jacket was likely beyond repair. She frowned. She liked that jacket.
"We'll get you a new jacket, Clarke," Lexa said, laughter in her voice. Clarke smiled back, still in awe of how well the Commander could read her.
They stayed in the cabin after the first couple days in Arkadia, Raven, Lincoln, and Octavia taking up their spots in the front room, and Lexa informing Bellamy that he could stay there, too, if he chose. He declined. He wasn't keen on trying to sleep where his sister and Lincoln more often than not shared a cot. They weren't as quiet or inconspicuous as they thought they were and he was still her big brother. He opted for his spot under the window again. They really didn't need to guard Clarke as closely anymore, but it still felt right.
The ride back to Polis felt peaceful. The same companions accompanied them, with the addition of Monty, Jasper, and Harper, who felt they could help Raven with more tech trading. Lexa mentioned that she was having a trading post set up for them and there would be rooms in the back of it where they could work and rest. The three looked stoked to hear it; they were nervous about the thought of staying in the tower they had heard so much about. While they had gotten somewhat close to Lexa through Clarke, it was still a much more formal relationship.
"I still get my room, right?" Raven had leaned over her horse to whisper to Lexa, earning herself a rare, full-bellied laugh from Lexa before the Commander nodded. The sound was like music to Clarke, who rode on her other side, Octavia and Lincoln behind her and Lexa's guards strategically riding around the whole group.
They were met with the same reception as before, if not a little more enthusiastic. The story of Wanheda's apparent death and then miraculous resurrection already making its rounds through the clans. They played their roles in front of the people, but all were relieved when they finally made it to their quarters.
Lexa and Clarke ate dinner in their room, the atmosphere peaceful. They fell asleep in each other's arms.
The nightmares returned, but Clarke felt better equipped to deal with them. She and Lexa talked through them and fell asleep fairly quickly.
However, things weren't as peaceful as she had thought. Lexa wouldn't let Clarke out of her sight. She initially made up excuses about wanting her opinion on coalition business, but it soon became apparent to Clarke that that wasn't the real reason she was now accompanying Lexa everywhere. She didn't mind at first, but grew more concerned, especially when Lexa would get a little panicked if she was gone to the bathroom, or anywhere else mundane, too long.
Lexa avoided it when Clarke tried to bring it up, but they could both read the other too easily. Lexa also didn't try to initiate anything sexual with Clarke and gently shut down any advances Clarke made to her. The original excuse was her cuts, but they were mostly healed by now. She wasn't cold or distant, almost always touching or caressing Clarke in some way, but something was off. In fact, Lexa seemed to grow a little panicked if they weren't touching.
Clarke knew that she would need to force the issue. She also knew Lexa wouldn't like that. But, just like the men in the cell far below them, it needed to be dealt with sooner rather than later.